If you have a job, do you know who your employer is? The answer isnât always straightforward, César Cuauhtémoc GarcÃa Hernández points out in a recent Boston College Third World Law Journal article, and the implications can be profound. In âFeeble, Circular, and Unpredictable: OSHAâs Failure to Protect Temporary Workers,â GarcÃa details the disadvantages temporary […]
A couple of weeks ago, EPA proposed a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone (0.07 â 0.075 ppb) that was lower than the current limit (0.08 ppb) but not as protective as the limit many experts suggested (0.06). The agency also announced that it would be taking comments on alternative standards from 0.06 â […]
Remember back in May, when public health advocates sounded the alarm about the fact that EPAâs short list of nominees for its Science Advisory Board asbestos panel included scientists associated with product defense firms? As David Michaels explained, these firms are hired by corporations and trade associations to minimize government regulation, and scientists associated with […]
Cong. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) held a hearing on June 25 on the federal government’s response to the hazardous air contaminants that polluted lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks. The featured witness was former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who was in the hot seat for her claims that the air in NYC was safe to breathe. Much less attention was paid […]
In honor of the 4th of July, Joseph Romm at Gristmill rounds up news of places that have cancelled fireworks displays due to drought, and Janet Stemwedel at Adventures in Ethics and Science explains the chemistry behind firework colors. As always, the U.S. Independence Day is an occasion for bringing up the âenergy independenceâ idea; […]
Four Nigerian states are suing British American Tobacco and Philip Morris to recover costs of treating smoking-related diseases. The plaintiffs charge that the companies aimed to recruit more smokers by targeting minors, using sponsorship of concerts and sporting events and free cigarette giveaways. Tosin Sulaiman in The Times (UK) reports:
After a contractor was rescued from a collapsed construction trench in Desert Hot Springs, California, Eric Solvig of The Desert Sun reported on how common it is for trench work in California to violate safety guidelines â and for workers to be killed or injured as a result: State officials issued more than 1,400 citations […]
By Liz Borkowski Finally, hereâs some good news in the power struggle between the Bush administration and Congress: The House has voted to prohibit the White Houseâs Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) from spending any money on an executive order that gives political appointees greater authority over federal regulatory agencies. Bushâs executive order […]
At first, the FOIA request for workplace inspection data seemed straight forward.  The requester asked for all records contained in OSHA’s database of industrial hygiene samples for the contaminant beryllium during the period 1979 to 2005.  Previously, OSHA had provided on numerous ocassions comparable information to other requesters, and in some cases, even without requiring a formal FOIA request. […]
Michael Mooreâs Sicko brought in $4.5 million in its opening weekend, and it seems like anyone whoâs seen it has an opinion about the film and its subject. The WSJ health blog has compiled reviews from major newspapers; if youâre interested in blogger reactions, too, we have a few suggestions: